Free Republic

The long-awaited counteroffensive last year failed. Russia has recaptured Avdiivka, its biggest war gain in nine months. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been forced to quietly acknowledge the new military reality. The Biden Administration’s strategy is now to sustain Ukrainian defense until after the U.S. presidential elections, in the hope of wearing down Russian forces in a long war of attrition. This strategy seems sensible enough, but contains one crucially important implication and one potentially disastrous flaw, which are not yet being seriously addressed in public debates in the West or Ukraine. The implication of Ukraine standing indefinitely on the defensive—even...

<p>WASHINGTON ? A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.</p>

Former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union: Ukraine’s NATO Collusion Caused the Russia ConflictFormer US ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack Matlock has admitted that Ukraine’s own actions brought about their own peril with regards to Russia.“The war might have been prevented – probably would have been prevented – if Ukraine had been willing to abide by the Minsk agreement, recognize the Donbas as an autonomous entity within Ukraine, avoid NATO military advisors, and pledge not to enter NATO,” Matlock said.“Nevertheless, what was possible even as late as January 2022 may not be possible now. The Russian annexation of additional...

Adults aged 60 and older who sit for long periods watching TV or other such passive, sedentary behaviors may be at increased risk of developing dementia. Their study showed the risk is lower for those who are active while sitting, such as when they read or use computers. It also revealed that the link between sedentary behavior and dementia risk persisted even among participants who were physically active. The results remained the same even after the scientists accounted for levels of physical activity. Even in individuals who are highly physically active, time spent watching TV was associated with increased risk...

The COVID-19 virus could potentially have escaped from a laboratory, one of the most senior health officials in the U.S. conceded on Wednesday, as House Republicans published their own report claiming there is 'circumstantial evidence' that the virus originated in a Wuhan facility. The U.S. government has been at pains to downplay speculation that the virus was the result of an accident in China - although they are calling on Beijing to be more transparent about their role. They insist that it is far more likely that COVID-19 originated with animals, and spread naturally to humans. Critics of the Biden...

Richard Collins, a screenwriter during the McCarthy era who was blacklisted for several years before he cooperated with the Communist-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee, died Thursday in Ventura. The onetime Communist Party member was 98 and the last of the group of left-leaning writers and directors known as the Hollywood 19, 10 of whom went to prison for refusing to name names before the committee.

News Advisory: Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of retired ambassadors and senior military officers, will hold a Morning Newsmaker news conference Wednesday, June 16, at 8 a.m. EDT at the National Press Club (Zenger Room), 13th floor, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. The topic will be "The Need for Change in U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy." The group includes former ambassadors Jeffrey Davidow, William DePree, Charles Freeman Jr., William Harrop, Arthur Hartman, H. Allen Holmes, Samuel Lewis, Princeton Lyman, Jack Matlock Jr., Donald McHenry, Richard Murphy, David Newsom, Phyllis Oakley, John Reinhardt, Ronald Spiers, Nicholas Veliotes...